WBB Small School Recap: Angelo State moves up while East Texas Baptist stays steady

DIVISION II

IN THE RANKINGS:

St. Mary’s fell out of the rankings after only one week in the NCAA DII WBCA Women’s Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. The Rattlers lost the only game they played last week as they only shot 23% from the floor in their 51-35 loss on the road to MSU Texas. The loss ended a seven-game winning streak for the Rattlers. St. Mary’s will try to start another winning streak this week when they host Cameron in their last game of 2018.

West Texas A&M remained No. 3 this week after having last week off. The Lady Buffs are on the road this week as they travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to play Barry and Palm Beach Atlantic in the Cruzin Classic. WT is 9-0 overall on the season and 2-0 in Lone Star Conference play. The Cruzin Classic will be the last games the Lady Buffs play in 2018 and their last non-conference games of the regular season.

Angelo State moved up one spot this week to No. 21. The Belles defeated Texas A&M International 78-38 in their only game last week. ASU is traveling to Daytona this week to play in the Daytona Hoops Classic. The Belles play Urbana on Tuesday and Montana State Billings on Wednesday in their final non-conference games of the regular season. The Belles will resume LSC play on Jan. 3 when they host Texas Woman’s.

CHRISTMAS BREAK:
The final extended break of the season begins this week as every team from the Lone Star Conference and the Heartland Conference will take a break from playing basketball games from Dec. 20 through Dec. 28. Play will resume on Dec. 29 and will continue through conference tournaments in March.

Bostad was phenomenal on the offensive end of the court as the senior led Tarleton to a pair of crucial victories over Heartland Conference, in-region rivals last week. Bostad’s week began with a career-high performance on the road at St. Edward’s when she scored 27 points to lift Tarleton past the previously 8-1 Hilltoppers and give the goats their first home loss of the season. In that game, Bostad was 7-13 from the field, including 3-5 from downtown, and 10-12 at the free throw line to go along with six rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Bostad followed up with 14 points Wednesday afternoon in an 81-69 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith in Stephenville. For the week, Bostad averaged 20.5 points per game on .476 shooting from the field, .500 from beyond the arc, and .850 at the charity stripe. She added nine rebounds and eight assists in two games, as well.

Alexander helped Midwestern State to a 2-0 record last week with wins over No. 21 St. Mary's (51-35) and UT Tyler (95-36). The junior averaged 9.0 rebounds per game with five blocks and four steals while holding opponents to 21.1 percent shooting and a meager 35.5 points per game. In the upset of the Rattlers, Alexander pulled down a season-high 12 rebounds, including nine on the defensive end, and had three blocks to go along with four points. Against the Patriots, Alexander added six boards, two blocks and four steals to limit UTT to 19.6 percent shooting from the floor.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE:

Angelo State – Won vs Texas A&M International 78-38

Lubbock Christian – Did not play last week.

Midwestern State – Won vs No. 21 St. Mary’s 51-35

St. Edward’s – Lost vs Tarleton State 93-90

St. Mary’s – Lost at MSU Texas 51-35

Tarleton State – Won at St. Edward’s 93-90

Texas A&M-Commerce – Did not play last week.

Texas A&M International – Lost at Angelo State 78-38

Texas A&M-Kingsville – Did not play last week.

Texas Woman’s – Did not play last week.

UT Permian Basin – Won vs Arlington Baptist 87-57

West Texas A&M – Did not play last week.

GAMES TO WATCH:

No games due to Christmas break.

DIVISION III

IN THE RANKINGS:

Austin College made their first appearance this season in the D3hoops.com Women’s Top 25 Poll after a torrid start to the season. The Kangaroos enter the poll at No. 25 this week with a 7-1 record this year. The ‘Roos won both of their games last week as they defeated Hardin-Simmons 62-48 on the road last Thursday and decisively beat Hendrix 87-46 on Saturday. The ‘Roos own a win earlier this season over then No. 14 UT Dallas.

Mary Hardin-Baylor moved up one spot to No. 12 as they remained undefeated this season with a 9-0 start. The Crusaders won their only game last week as they defeated Ozarks 82-57 in conference action. The Crusaders undefeated start is impressive considering they have defeated two teams currently ranked in the D3hoops.com poll and conference foes UT Dallas and East Texas Baptist.

East Texas Baptist remained steady in the poll at No. 15 as they improved to 10-1 on the season with two wins last week. The Lady Tigers took a decisive 81-49 victory over Howard Payne in conference action last Monday. ETBU also secured a dominating win over LeTourneau 75-44 on Thursday also in conference play. The Lady Tigers are 4-1 in conference with their only loss to current No. 12 Mary Hardin-Baylor.

UT Dallas fell another spot to No. 23 despite not playing any games last week. The Comets are 6-2 overall this season and 3-1 in conference. The only teams to defeat the Comets are currently ranked in the Top 25. Austin College defeated UT Dallas 60-57 on Nov. 24 and Mary Hardin-Baylor earned a narrow 75-70 win over the Comets on Dec. 8. The Comets have two conference games this week before the Christmas break.

FINAL BREAK:
Every team in the American Southwest Conference and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference will take their final extended break of the season next week. Both the ASC and the SCAC will begin their break after games are played on Dec. 20 and both conferences will resume action on Dec. 28. This will be the final extended break for most teams until the end of the season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

American Southwest Conference:

EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jayla Landrum, Fr., G, Louisiana College

Louisiana College freshman guard Jayla Landrum (Longview, Texas) averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game as the Wildcats picked up a pair of conference road wins. She recorded 22 points, nine rebounds and four steals in Thursday’s 72-62 win at Howard Payne, then followed with nine points and nine boards in a 70-65 victory at Sul Ross State Saturday.

WEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kendall Rollins, Jr., G, Mary Hardin-Baylor

Mary Hardin-Baylor junior guard Kendall Rollins (Fulshear, Texas) had 16 points, nine rebounds and two steals as the No. 13/15 Cru topped Ozarks 82-57 to remain undefeated on the season. She shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field and was 4-for-5 at the line to earn her second Player of the Week of the season and fourth of her career.

Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference:

ANN SAVAGE OF AUSTIN COLLEGE, a senior guard from Tulsa, Okla., has been named the SCAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for games played from Monday, December 10 through Sunday, December 16.

Savage was incredibly efficient for the Roos’ shooting 69.2 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from three-point range, which led the league in both categories in week six. The senior guard led her team to two victories last week averaging 15.5 points per game, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

Trinity (Tex.) – Won at Augsburg 59-55; Lost at No. 3 St. Thomas (Minn.) 92-50

UT Dallas – Did not play last week.

UT Tyler – Won at Concordia Texas 54-51

GAMES TO WATCH:

No games this weekend due to Christmas break.

Cory Hogue is Dave Campbell's Texas Basketball small college correspondent follow him on Twitter at @HoagieSports and be sure to visit his website (linked below) for more coverage of Division II and Division III collegiate athletics.